Human Resources Managers
11-3121.00
Bright Outlook Updated 2025

Plan, direct, or coordinate human resources activities and staff of an organization.

Sample of reported job titles: Employee Relations Manager, HR Admin Director (Human Resources Administration Director), HR Director (Human Resources Director), HR Manager (Human Resources Manager), HR Ops Manager (Human Resources Operations Manager), HR VP (Human Resources Vice President), Recruitment Director

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • Serve as a link between management and employees by handling questions, interpreting and administering contracts and helping resolve work-related problems.
  • Plan, direct, supervise, and coordinate work activities of subordinates and staff relating to employment, compensation, labor relations, and employee relations.
  • Perform difficult staffing duties, including dealing with understaffing, refereeing disputes, firing employees, and administering disciplinary procedures.
  • Represent organization at personnel-related hearings and investigations.
  • Negotiate bargaining agreements and help interpret labor contracts.
  • Advise managers on organizational policy matters, such as equal employment opportunity and sexual harassment, and recommend needed changes.
  • Plan and conduct new employee orientation to foster positive attitude toward organizational objectives.
  • Analyze and modify compensation and benefits policies to establish competitive programs and ensure compliance with legal requirements.
  • Identify staff vacancies and recruit, interview, and select applicants.
  • Investigate and report on industrial accidents for insurance carriers.
  • Analyze statistical data and reports to identify and determine causes of personnel problems and develop recommendations for improvement of organization's personnel policies and practices.
  • Administer compensation, benefits, and performance management systems, and safety and recreation programs.
  • Prepare and follow budgets for personnel operations.
  • Maintain records and compile statistical reports concerning personnel-related data such as hires, transfers, performance appraisals, and absenteeism rates.
  • Provide current and prospective employees with information about policies, job duties, working conditions, wages, opportunities for promotion, and employee benefits.
  • Plan, organize, direct, control, or coordinate the personnel, training, or labor relations activities of an organization.
  • Conduct exit interviews to identify reasons for employee termination.
  • Oversee the evaluation, classification, and rating of occupations and job positions.
  • Analyze training needs to design employee development, language training, and health and safety programs.
  • Allocate human resources, ensuring appropriate matches between personnel.
  • Prepare personnel forecast to project employment needs.
  • Study legislation, arbitration decisions, and collective bargaining contracts to assess industry trends.
  • Develop or administer special projects in areas such as pay equity, savings bond programs, day care, and employee awards.
  • Develop, administer, and evaluate applicant tests.
  • Contract with vendors to provide employee services, such as food service, transportation, or relocation service.
  • Provide terminated employees with outplacement or relocation assistance.
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Technology Skills

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In Demand skills are frequently included in employer job postings for this occupation.

Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
  • Providing Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
  • Staffing Organizational Units — Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
  • Working with Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
  • Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
  • Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
  • Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
  • Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
  • Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
  • Communicating with People Outside the Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
  • Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Monitoring and Controlling Resources — Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
  • Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
  • Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • E-Mail — 100% responded “Every day.”
  • Telephone Conversations — 85% responded “Every day.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams — 81% responded “Every day.”
  • Contact With Others — 73% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team — 55% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals — 50% responded “Some freedom.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 64% responded “Some freedom.”
  • Spend Time Sitting — 59% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Duration of Typical Work Week — 68% responded “More than 40 hours.”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 50% responded “Every day.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 50% responded “Very important.”
  • Conflict Situations — 41% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 45% responded “Important results.”
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 68% responded “Every day.”
  • Time Pressure — 36% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities — 50% responded “Very important.”
  • Written Letters and Memos — 38% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People — 41% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers — 59% responded “High responsibility.”
  • Deal With External Customers or the Public in General — 41% responded “Very important.”
  • Health and Safety of Other Workers — 45% responded “High responsibility.”
  • Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 41% responded “Very important.”
  • Level of Competition — 62% responded “Moderately competitive.”

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Education
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related Experience
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Job Zone Examples
Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, conservation scientists, art directors, and cost estimators.
SVP Range
(7.0 to < 8.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
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State licenses

Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Management of Personnel Resources — Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  • Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
  • Negotiation — Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Persuasion — Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Systems Analysis — Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Management of Financial Resources — Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
  • Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems.

Knowledge

  • Personnel and Human Resources — Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
  • Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  • Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Communications and Media — Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  • Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 82%
     
    Bachelor’s degree required
  • 9%
     
    Post-baccalaureate certificate required
  • 5%
     
    Post-secondary certificate required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Speed of Closure — The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Memorization — The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.

Interests

Interest code: ECS
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  • Enterprising — Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
  • Social — Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

Work Styles

  • Leadership Orientation — A tendency to lead, take charge, offer opinions, and provide direction at work.
  • Empathy — A tendency to show concern for others and be sensitive to others' needs and feelings at work.
  • Stress Tolerance — A tendency to cope and function effectively in stressful situations at work.
  • Self-Control — A tendency to remain calm and composed and to manage emotions effectively in response to criticism or difficult situations at work.
  • Social Orientation — A tendency to seek out, enjoy, and be energized by social interaction at work.
  • Cooperation — A tendency to be pleasant, helpful, and willing to assist others at work.
  • Integrity — A tendency to be honest and ethical at work.
  • Attention to Detail — A tendency to be detail-oriented, organized, and thorough in completing work.
  • Dependability — A tendency to be reliable, responsible, and consistent in meeting work-related obligations.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2024)
$67.32 hourly, $140,030 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2024)
221,900 employees
Projected growth (2024-2034)
Faster than average (5% to 6%)
Projected job openings (2024-2034)
17,900
State trends
Top industries (2024)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data and 2024-2034 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2024-2034). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations
Accreditation, Certification, & Unions